Lone Cause
by Edict
Summary: Not all Desians were Half elf. Not all the descrimination was forced on them. There were some humans that fought for the same cause, no matter how Idealistic their thoughts may be. Fancharacter, Spoilers


"Can you tell me, Just tell me one thing…Why is it all the same...?"

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"What the hell are we waiting for? " A young, orange haired man practically screamed, rising up from his seat. The room full of people quickly came to a hush and looked at him from around the large meeting table. He hesitated at the attention, but continued. " The Desians, the Cruxis, what are we waiting for? We say we're doing this to rid discrimination, against us, against the other races. But look at us; we can't ever get along between ourselves. Our own race!"  
It wasn't uncommon for him to speak out of place, though; many already thought he was just out of place just being there. This organization, The Desians, was made up of mainly those of half-elf blood. To them, having one of pure human blood speak out of rank and try to tell _them_ what should happen was ridiculous.  
"_Our own blood_?" One of the higher ranked officers at the table repeated. " You have no place to speak of '_Our blood, _' Officer." He finished, trying to give the human a subtle hint that he is out of place.  
"What does that matter? You were fighting between your own blood! I doesn't matter if I-"  
" You're Out of place." Another one butted in. "In rank and in race, Human. Learn your place!" He added, shooting a glare towards the human. The orange haired man gave back the same look, frustrated, but then again was cut off before he could say anything.  
"That's enough, Kiso."

They stopped bickering for a second to look towards the red haired man that spoke. He was laid back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. The man looked calm, but his tone was all but inviting. The human, Kiso, turned towards him as well, still not giving up his stand.  
"But Lord Magnius!" He pleaded. " He's not even listening! He-"  
"I said that was enough." With that, Magnius stood up from his seat. He was rather tall and muscular, and he stood rather proudly; up straight and almost proper, though that is thrown off by his other visible features. His tanned skin looked rough and almost dirty, and the three scars that lay across his face proved he was much more a fighter than someone of say, noble blood. The dark, emerald eyes glanced down the table at the two who were arguing, then continued.  
"Even if you were correct in what you say, you need to keep your place. You may have been promoted recently, you are still the lowest ranked officer here."  
"But-"  
"Keep your place!" Magnius repeated, much more forcefully this time, as he slammed his hand on top of the table. Kiso looked about ready to yell something back and hold his ground, but soon decided against that. With a silent sigh, Kiso say back down. The second officer that had spoke out against Kiso looked over with a triumphant grin, before turning his attention back to Magnius, for now they were discussing more important matters.  
Lord Magnius was the head of the Palmacosta ranch, one of the Five Grand Cardinals, and people knew not to get him angered. Being of human blood, Kiso knew this especially well. It may have been common for humans to be in the ranches, but not as Desians. Most humans there were prisoners being cultivated for expheres, much like a cow for its milk and meat, but to have human blooded Desian was rare. They were either killed off quickly, or stayed low in the ranks; janitors or grunts. There were exceptions however; people such as Lord Kratos who was one of the founders of Cruxis and a former companion of "Mithos the Hero". Lord Kratos was one of the Four Seraphim -- The highest ranking.  
Kiso was not exactly the best ranking there was, but high enough to attend the more important meeting within Magnius' Ranch. It wasn't much, but it was a great rank for someone who had started out as exphere cattle in another ranch.

Kiso didn't pay much attention the rest of the meeting and quickly left once it was over. He didn't want to stay and confront the other officers there that had been through the little argument during the meeting; them taunting him, basically. There were also things to do! Kiso was one of the six officers escorting the second in command at Forcystus' Ranch back to his ranch. They were going to make sure he wouldn't get ambushed on the way. He had to get some rest, since they were going during the night. It wasn't much, but he got out of the ranch at least; away from the others.  
" Hey, Kiso, where ya' going? " An officer said, the one that had spoke up against Kiso in the meeting. The officer stepped in front of Kiso, stopping him.  
" Move Virgil." Kiso commanded.  
" Heh, as I said in there, learn your place. You take orders from me, not the other way around." Virgil said, folding his arms over his chest.  
" And as I just said, move." Kiso growled, trying to push Virgil out of the way. Virgil grabbed onto Kiso's shoulders and shoved him against the wall. It wasn't the best thing for Kiso to try to force his way around, considering how much the other officers didn't care for him. Kiso began to squirm when Virgil pinned him against the wall.  
" Get Off Me!"  
" Then don't touch me, human!" Virgil hissed back at Kiso, bringing him off the ground so that he was eye level, which is relatively high since Kiso was only five foot tall, and Virgil was five foot seven. Kiso flailed his legs in attempt to Virgil. After a moment, he managed to and Virgil stepped back slightly, winded from being kicked in the stomach. Virgil regained his breath quickly and planted his fist to Kiso's face, keeping him against the wall.  
" Why you Bastard...You should have rotted in your cell long ago. Why don't you just--" Virgil growled, but stopped himself from continuing and letting go of Kiso. The two were normally at least civil towards each other. Virgil knew that Kiso had gotten where he was by giving up just about everything and he respected him just a little for that. " ...Just go somewhere. I don't care. I'm not going to deal with you right now." He finished, turning away and down the hall. Kiso rubbed the side of his face and watched him leave before heading to his room to rest.

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Later that night, Kiso met up with the rest of the group that was escorting Forcystus' commander.  
" Kiso, you're late." Magnius said as he turned to him.  
"I know, I know" Kiso sighed. " I...got caught up in the halls."  
Magnius nodded a little, and continued with what he had been telling the group before Kiso came in.  
" Oh, yes, and second in command will be going along with you to give extra protection to Forcystus' man. There are certain matters that he needs to discuss with Forcystus for me and I'd like to give him the protection he needs. "  
" What? Virgil is going too?" Kiso cut in as he looked at the group. Sure enough, Virgil was standing at the other end from where Kiso was standing. He only nodded when he looked towards Kiso, before looking back at Lord Magnius.  
"But! He...That's not..." Kiso stuttered.  
" It's for extra protection. I'm not going to risk you getting ambushed and him being killed. We have to do it this way until my communicator is fixed. Deal with it." He said, ending that part of the conversation and continuing on with the procedures of what to do. They just had to come right back after dropping the commander off at Forcystus' ranch. They left soon after Magnius finished talking. Virgil headed up to the front with the commander, stopping beside Kiso for a moment.  
" Listen, Vermin. Just don't get in the way, all right? I don't feel like dealing with you, so if you get hurt, you're being left behind." He said before quickening his step again to get to the front. Kiso sighed and put on his helmet, it hid that he was human a little bit at least. He didn't enjoy being a human Desian. They either hated him, or gave him pity, but it was usually hate.

They walked for a good hour or two before stopping to rest. They stayed in a densely wooded area to stay hidden and dry from the rain that had started falling. The tension between Virgil and Kiso had died down quite a bit, and they were talking as if they were almost friends.  
" Hey Virg. How long until we get there?" Kiso asked, taking his helmet off. Virgil looked up, irritated and crossed his arms.  
" Stop with the nickname. And it can't be too far now, we're almost to Iselia."  
" At least I'm not calling you 'Virggy' right? "  
"You know you already have a death wish with me, right?" He sighed. " Remember the ' Hair Incident'? " Virgil finished, pointing to his pink tipped Blond hair. Kiso just laughed for a second, remembering it, and then nodding.  
" You needed more color!"  
" You didn't have to dye my hair!"  
" Aw C'mon. It looks better though!" Kiso argued, still laughing slightly.  
" But pink?" Virgil sighed again, knowing there was no way of getting past that with him. Kiso went to add something else to conversation, but quickly quieted. " ...I think we should get going again. Someone else is here." Kiso said, in a more serious tone this time. Virgil looked at him questioningly, and then shook his head. " You're hearing things, Kiso. Don't be paranoid. We'll leave in a little while."  
"But I hear something in the bushes, there's something ther--" Kiso stopped suddenly, hearing a branch crack on the other side from where he had heard the first sound. He snapped his head towards the sound, before looking back at Virgil.  
" I think we should go..." He pleaded again, hoping that this time Virgil would agree. It didn't work out that way though, he just shook his head 'no'.  
"But…I think someone is trying to ambush us!" Kiso tried again.  
" Don't be stup—" Virgil started, but was cut of from being his by someone from behind. He fell forward and slid a little on the muddy ground. At this, Kiso jumped back quickly, looking to see who had hit Virgil.  
"...Ugh, Damn humans." Virgil groaned as he got up slowly, wiping the mud off of his face.  
Kiso looked at him for a second before turning back to see who had hit him step out from behind the bushes. Indeed, it was a human. He was tall, with pale red hair, dressed completely in dark clothing. The human smirked and walked towards the group.

"Don't be so confident. It's seven against one, here." Kiso said forcefully, reaching for his weapon – a boomerang that was strapped on the back of his belt.  
" Fifteen against seven." The redhead corrected, cocking his head to the side. This caused Kiso to flinch slightly as he swung himself around. The other fourteen people were out from hiding, surrounding the group. He then turned back towards the first one, clenching the handle of his weapon.  
"…Damn it. Split up!" Virgil hissed, grabbing a hold of Forcystus' man as him and the rest of the group scattered. They were on an escort mission, not to kill anyone. Virgil wasn't one to disobey Magnius' orders.  
Kiso attempted to scatter with the rest of them, but he found himself alone - Or, at least alone within his group. While Virgil had gone with Forcystus' man, the other four from the group scattered into pairs. An odd number in the group left Kiso alone. Some of the human's group headed after them, but it was still outnumbered eight to one.  
Quickly, Kiso tried to dart away, but one of them grabbed his arm, holding him still.  
" Hey, come on. Where ya' goin'?" The human holding him said, tauntingly. His dark hair almost completely covering his eyes, but it wasn't enough to cover up the cold glare at Kiso.  
"…H-hey…I'm human too, like you." Kiso stuttered, tying to pull his arm out of the dark-haired man's grip. Despite his struggle, all that happened was he tightened his grip on his arm.  
"Yeah? And you're with the Half-elves, too." Another one added from the group.  
"I didn't have a choice then!" Kiso yelled back, pulling himself back and kicking the man holding him in the gut. The grip around his arm loosened and Kiso pulled away quickly, making a run for it.

Kiso leaned against a tree, breathing heavily to catch his breath. He'd been running for a little while, not knowing where since it was dark still. That's when it started to rain.  
Of course, just his luck. Kiso shuddered at the cold, and the memory of what happened before; when he was little.  
--

It was a night much like that night, cold and raining. A young Kiso ran barefoot through the forest. It was too dark to see anything very well and he was barely missing hitting some trees. The calls of Desian officers behind him were what kept him running, though. If he stopped now he'd be killed, and that wasn't what he wanted right now. Kiso was about eight and almost four foot tall. He was quite short for his age, but that could have been from the lack of eating what he should. Young Kiso here was a prisoner at Forcystus' ranch, and now an escaped prisoner; or at least almost one.  
He stumbled, falling to the muddy ground. He gasped to catch his breath and forced himself up. The Iselia forest seemed so much bigger in the dark. It might have been just because he didn't know which way he was going, but he knew if he kept straight, eventually he'd get out. That was what kept him going, as well. Though his legs were sore and he constantly gasped for a breath for air, he knew eventually he'd get away.  
Kiso skid to a stop, hearing voices in front of him. It wasn't something he had planned, and it ruined his escape of going straight. Quickly, he turned slightly a headed a different way. As long as he didn't turn backwards, he'd be fine. Right?  
Suddenly, he felt something hit his right shoulder – or more, he hit something with his right shoulder. It was just a tree, but he rammed right into it, having not seen it in the dark. The impact send pain all down Kiso's arm and he fell to the ground again. Trying to force himself up this time was harder since it seemed his arm wouldn't react. He whimpered in pain and let himself fall back into the mud. His arm wasn't broken, but the shoulder was dislocated, making his arm lay there limply.  
"Well, well. Seems you couldn't escape." A voice came from behind him, males. The young Kiso shuttered at the voice – Lord Focystus'. Slowly, he turned to face the Cardinal, who looked all but happy.  
"This must be what, your third try? I think I've given you a fair amount of chances, human." The man frowned, though it went unseen in the dark.  
Lord Forcystus was one of the five Desian grand Cardinals. He seemed rather average, too. Average height and everything. "Kind to him companions, but a fierce God of Death to his enemies." is what Kiso remembered him by; it was what he was known for. He was a Hero, to half-elves, at least. He wasn't exactly cruel to the people in his ranch, but it wasn't like he prepared a bed full of roses, either.  
After a moment or two, Kiso quickly pushed himself up in an attempt to run. Forcystus just sighed and rose up the Mana cannon attachment to his amputated arm and fired at the young boy running. Even in the dark, Forcystus have decent aim. He managed to his Kiso around the right side of his neck and part of his shoulder, causing him to, once again, fall to the ground.  
"Now listen, pest." Forcystus spoke in a calm tone, walking towards the fallen boy." I'll give you one last chance. Come back with me now, or you die right here. Do this again, and you wont have this chance again." The calmness was still there, but you could easily hear an irritated tone behind it.

The boy, not exactly wanting to die, slowly shook his head to agree. He was tired, cold, wet, and now bleeding where he was hit with the arm cannon. When Forcystus saw that he agreed, he picked up Kiso carefully and carried him on his shoulder back to the ranch. That way Kiso couldn't try and run, and he couldn't collapses of exhaustion. The Desian shook his head at the boy's sobs and signaled for a passing officer to let everyone back inside and stop the search.  
--

Kiso shook the memory away and started walking again. That had been a long time ago, he shouldn't be remembering that now. He needed to find the rest of his group.


End file.
